News

The restoration work at Eskdale Mill is reaching its conclusion with the appointment of a new Mill Manager in the run up to re-opening the mill to the public this summer, thanks to funding raised by National Lottery players. Kate Hughes took up the post at the beginning of May and moved into the cottage…

Would you like to become a member of Eskdale Mill & Heritage Trust? Individual membership is just £12.50 a year! By becoming a member you will receive the trust’s newsletter and advance notice of special events and activities. Crucially for the trust, by becoming a member you will be supporting the long term future of…

Eskdale Mill & Heritage Trust invite you to attend their 2019 AGM which will be held on Saturday 27th of April at The Bower House Inn, Eskdale, Holbrook, CA19 1TD, 7pm. There will be light refreshments and a chance to meet trustees, volunteers and our newly appointed mill manager Kate Hughes, who will formally take…

The millwrights have been working hard on and off-site to get our mill machinery back in good working order – including our two waterwheels! To find out more please take a look at the latest progress report from our adviser Stuart Hobbs Mill Machinery Progress Report – December 2018

The building work has been progressing well over the winter, thanks to relatively good weather and the hard work of our building contractor and project team. To find out more take a look at the latest progress report from our project architects: Building Conservation Progress Report – December 2018

Until recently we believed that a 1798 colour-washed drawing by JMW Turner showed the mill, a copy of another artist’s work. Since the 1798 drawing was auctioned at Christies in 2006 under the title ‘Boot Mill in Eskdale on Whillan Beck, Lake District’, it has appeared, amongst other places, in the successful bid to UNESCO…

Restoration is due for completion March 2019. Interpretation will be installed afterwards. A Mill Manager will be recruited towards the end of 2018, with this post advertised January 2019 and a successful applicant moving into the refurbished cottage in April. The re-opening of the mill to visitors is planned for June 2019.

Minerva Heritage has presented detailed design proposals to Trustees, advisers and volunteers and continues to develop these. Learning materials will be created in partnership with local schools. As access to the site is restricted this can’t happen until 2019. Self-guided trails and virtual tours are also being developed. A Cumbria-based company, Rocket Sites, redesigned and…

Lambert Walker Ltd of Ulverston, our builders, took possession of the site at the end of July. Both halves of the site are fenced in to maintain the public footpath to the fell gate. Scaffolding encloses the main mill building, stable/hay loft and the cottage. Work began by chipping out cement pointing outside the cottage…

Our millwrights Derek and Simon Janes, of Janes Ltd, of Wimborne in Dorset, have been on site since late August. They began by clearing the machinery areas and assessing repairs and replacement needs, and are carrying out some restoration work in their own workshop. The millwrights are working first on re-assembly of the lower wheel…